MTV Turning 2012 Election into a Fantasy Game

Who doesn't love fantasy football? Everybody has a team these days, even my grandma. But imagine a fantasy game where instead of having a roster of Manning, Peterson and Fitzgerald you have one of Obama, Boehner and McConnell. That's what MTV along with $250,000 from The Knight Foundation is creating, a fantasy football like election game.

A player enters a league with family and friends then drafts a 12 player roster made up of congressional and presidential candidates. These teams then compete against each other by earning points. I'm not sure if there is an option for head-to-head game play or ROTO leagues (sorry, fantasy geek moment there). I know what your asking already. "How do you earn points?" It's not like Obama threw 3 touchdowns last week.

The candidates earn points through fact checking in speeches PolitiFact, poll results given by Real Clear Politics and even the frequency in which they interact with voters through social media. The team owner can even earn points by registering to vote and checking in with social media applications when watching debates. The game is said to be very smartphone friendly. So everyone can check on their team anywhere.

More real time reactions could result in more interest by the youth of America and maybe even influencing the candidates themselves to be more responsible with their campaigns. I personally can't wait for the first voter to go up to their congressman and tell them how the speech they gave last week cost them a playoff spot. MTV is running a beta-test version of the Fantasy Election '12 this summer and launching the game September 1st.